Tuesday 19th March 2024,
Batty Tales

More Camp Cooking

About time we got you all back in the kitchen again.

Today we are putting our own twist on one of the most traditional Australian camp foods – Damper! We also try our luck with some delicious creamy pumpkin soup – a favourite of ours at home which we have adapted to the camp kitchen. Try them out and let us know how they taste!! We thought they were pretty good.

CHILLI CHEESE & BACON DAMPER
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3 cups self raising flour 50g Butter, chopped (butter is optional but will make the damper a bit more ‘fluffy’)
1 cup milk
pinch salt
1 cup cheese, grated
1 cup bacon, diced
2tbs sweet chilli sauce
1tbs minced garlic
1tbs mixed herbs

Combine flour and butter in large bowl and rub together until the consistency of fine bread crumbs.  camp-cooking03

Add remaining ingredients and knead together with hands* until mix sticks together well. You dont want it too wet or too dry so add extra flour/milk if needed to get it nice and dough like. Form dough into a ball (or knobbled looking blob if you are anything like me) and place into a slightly oiled camp oven. Before puting the lid on you might like to cut a few ridges in the top or sprinkle with a little extra cheese and herbs to make it look pretty.  camp-cooking05

Place over onto bed of hot coles (hopefully prepared earlier by your strong and manly husband) and cover lid with same. Leave to cook for approximately 30 mins**, or until crust is golden brown, checking every 10 mins or so to make sure it isnt burning.

When cooked, carefully remove from oven and serve warm with a nice big spread of butter. Great as a side or a whole meal!

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* To help avoid getting sticky dough fingers, dust your hands with a bit of extra flour before kneading.

** It is important not to overdo the coles as this can cause the oven to get too hot too quick and your damper won’t cook through properly. Checking the pot regularly will help monitor this. Try not too cook for too long either as the damper may become dry.

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CREAMY PUMPKIN SOUP
(sorry, no mouth watering pics for this one, they appear to have gone missing from our hard drive!!)

1 Medium butternut pumpkin, sliced into small chunks
1 small sweet potato, diced
2 medium potatos, diced
1 Tbs oil
1 onion, diced
2 Tbs crushed garlic
1 tsp wholegrain mustard (optional)
1.5 – 2L vegetable or chicken stock
500ml thickened cream (may be less depending on taste)
Salt  & Pepper to taste

Place oil and onion in a large pot and cook on medium heat until onion is soft and glassy.

Add garlic and mustard and cook for approx 1 minute, until fragrant. Place veges and stock in pot and bring to boil for 1 – 2 minutes (you may also add some salt and pepper now, otherwise it can wait until serving).

Reduce heat and simmer on low until veges are soft and stock is reduced. Remove from heat and leave to cool slightly then using a potato masher*, mash veges until there are no large chunks left.

Return to low heat and mix through desired amount of cream. Season with salt and pepper and serve with some buttered bread or damper.

*if you are making this at home I recommend using a hand blender instead of potato masher as it will give you a much nicer, smooth texture.

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